Fans have already noticed the daylight hours have shortened and players are beginning to comment the Kapusta is no longer the sweltering sauna it had been mere weeks earlier. Trees are losing their leaves, and the ones left are dramatically bursting into hues reminiscent of another slumbering fall season. With a lack of NHL hockey, Tomcats coffers are beginning to overflow with the fans packing the Kapusta to the max in their quest to watch quality hockey. This past Tuesday they were not disappointed, and in fact fans were treated to the third consecutive mini tournament of the season with the three teams Captained, and lining up as follows:
Wearing Yellow and lead by Chevy were Sunny, Rocky, Soupy, Cribz and Razor backstopping
Wearing Black and Captained by Snowpants were Labamba, Bulldog, Sparky, Mez, Doc and Skippy in net
Last, wearing White marching behind Stevo were Hollywood, Yuri, Zaba, Hurricane and Falcon in net.
Yeah, I did the same thing when I saw the conclusion of the picks; I quietly muttered “How was Chevy allowed to put together such a dynamic team?” I mean talk about quality…I think Yellow had arguably most of the top goal scorers and defenders in the game. I guess it will come as NO surprise Chevy and his Yellow squad ended with a 3-1-0 record and 13GF, 4GA, plus 9 and Razor turning in another ridiculous 1G.A.A performance, and in the process knotching 2 more shutouts. Their only real close competitors; Snowpants and his pesky crew, who while starting off slow with back to back loses, ended the tourny on back to back wins; which were both shutout performances by Skippy.
On paper, and even in some of Snowpants picks, the odds right out of the gate looked bleak. Doc said it best when he commented, “We gotta be the workhorses, those blue collar gritty guys that grind out the wins – Let’s embrace being the underdogs!” Those ‘underdogs’ went 2-2-0 with 6GF, 5GA and a plus 1. Skippy nearly matched the play of Razor and ended with a 1.3GAA on the night.
Falcon, and Stevo’s White squad unfortunately did not fair well at 1-3-0 with 3GF, 11GA and a minus 8. Not a spectacular mini at all, Zchabba would later comment, “We just obviously couldn’t score, and to really have a chance in these timed tournaments you gotta post a score of 2 or more and have your goalie keep it under 2. That doesn’t mean Stevo picked bad, or Falcon had an off night, teams win or lose as that – a team.”
And YES, I said timed games, being the Kapusta was graced by the fine workmanship of Sparky and his glorious Blue Clock creation. Players already noticed there were some minor tweaks yet to be made, such as a Tomcats logo in both upper corners; which may have lead to the ensuing scramble to plaster the clock with sponsors. The ‘offender’ was quickly reprimanded, and the hastily scrawled black marker advertisement was quickly erased. Mercifully, it was able to be erased, as while the thought was genuine, it seemed to desecrate Sparky’s masterpiece; which is why I am giving him my pick as Platinum player of the game. JOB WELL DONE SPARKY, players and fans for years to come will fondly remember your handy work.
Speaking of other colours, the three star selection: Gold, Silver and Bronze, went to Soupy, Razor and Skippy respectively. All well deserved, and a first ever featuring two goalie selections. While you continue to look fondly at the changing colours outside your window, and continue to watch your favourite Tomcats players, I will quietly be in the stands looking for that special someone to put their HANDZONMECAC.
Yuri.
Windsor Tomcats 